[SOLVED] Nvidia 9600GT Problem

This is a discussion on [SOLVED] Nvidia 9600GT Problem within the Video Card Support forums, part of the Tech Support Forum category. Hello; I am new in this forum.
I recently bought an ECS nvidia geforce 9600GT 1GB to replace a GeForce

Hello; I am new in this forum.
I recently bought an ECS nvidia geforce 9600GT 1GB to replace a GeForce 8500GT and when I turned on the computer, I saw the BIOS screen and there were lots of red and white dots all over the screen, then when the select OS screen appeared, the dots changed to green and formed columns on the screen, then when the vista loading bar appeared there were lots of white dots, after the vista logo appeared they changed to red dot columns, and I proceeded to unistall the old 8500Gt drivers, I rebooted and all this dots were still there. Then some device manager thing popped from the taskbar and said installing new drivers. then it told me to restart and all the dots were still present during the reboot, then after the vista loading bar, saw a great black screen and the computer was making all the noises that it makes when I am turnig it on, but I cannot see anything on the screen. My screen does not displays the no signal box and acts like if it is displaying something but there is only a black screen. I have a Lg LCD TV 22LG30 connected trough a DVI to HDMI cable. I tried this with an VGA adapter and got the same results, I could only boot in safe mode with all the dots still there; and isntalled the latest nvidia drivers 186.18 version I think. And still, could only boot in safe mode. These dots are always present even in the BIOS configuration screen.

I recently discovered that I have a Power supply of 400Watt and the 12V connector with only 19A and the card listed it needed 26A. I only used the card for 3 hours an then I found on this forum that the PS is killing the video RAM. ¿Can my card be saved or is it too late? I just recived my card today and it costed $150. Will the problem go away with a new power supply? I find ilogical that a power supply with less Amperes can burn or damage a viedo card.

I only entered windows safemode to browse on the web for the problem, so is it possible that a new power supply with the adequate 26A or more on the 12V thingy will terminate those strange dots? or will I need to buy a new video card?

Odds are your GPU isn't yet permanently damaged, so a new PSU will likely help. If you're unlucky you may have damaged the card, but in that case you might be able to manage a replacement.

If a card receives insufficient power it can overheat and burn itself out. More power is better. A power supply will never deliver more than the component needs (except in rare cases where the PSU breaks and delivers a current/power spike, which can also kill the card).

The Corsair vx550w is probably the best power supply for the money with the specs you need to power that card. You could probably get away with a 500 watt power supply, but for a 50 watt difference the brand matters more than the specific wattage.

On the box it listed as minimun requirement a 400W PSU and 26A on the 12V line.
I plugged the 6 pin power connector to two 4 pin molex with an adapter that came with the card.
I also have a bigger issue; I live in México! and the only PSU that I found is this:ACTECK AF-B500E and it seems that it has 22 to 25 A, and the guys who sold me the video card, told me that this PSU is enough for the videocard.
This are the specs of this acteck PSU. I only have like $60 to spend because I bought the videocard. The video card costed $115 not $150.

Here is a recommended list watch the models on some of them, other models are not good.
Usually the Corsair is the price leader but different regions do vary in pricing of brands.
Brands and Models of Quality Power Supply Units
Seasonic - any model
Corsair - any model
Thermaltake - "Toughpower" series only
Coolermaster - "Real Power Pro" series only
PC Power & Cooling - any model
Silverstone - any model

I also found that my GeForce 8500GT, is running at 66°C, Is that temperature normal to the video card? I could not find how many Amper does it needs, but my current PSU has 19A on its 12V line, the 8500GT does not requires an additional power supply, is only connected to the PCI-E slot.

You should ideally have at least 26A on your +12V rail to power any PCIe x16 card. I don't know about the 8500GT specifically, but I'd guess you want ~28-30A for it, preferably a bit more. At 19A you're straining both your PSU and the card and the rest of your system. I'd say a get a new power supply ASAP. This is a good one for the price: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...=Corsair%20550 Before you ask, yes you need 550 watts, no you can't get away with 450 watts, no you can't get away with the $50 cheap-o unit. Not unless you want to risk damage to your computer. You could use a 500 watt PSU, but the Corsair vx550w will work just as well and is actually cheaper than some 500 watt models made by the other recommended brands.

66C is on the warm side for an idling GPU, you don't want to see more than 70C during heavy gaming, idle should be less than ~55C, preferably. The card may be overheating because of insufficient power, but it might also be insufficient air flow in your case. Try the new power supply first and see if that fixes it.

26 amps total is the recommended minimum for PCIe cards, the 8500GT is not a power hog, but a under powered supply will run warmer all the time increasing temps in the rest of the system. Look around see what you can find.

I found that my 8500GT is at 60°C when idle, 66°C at normal use and 72° when playing the most graphic intensive game that I own (Halo2); it has never passed 74°C.

I will search for the recommended PSU that you suggested, furthermore I will continue to use the 8500GT until I find the correct PSU for my 9600GT hoping that it did not die because of those less than 3 hours using it.

Thaks all of you for your advice, I had no idea that PSUs were so important for a graphics card and for the integrity of a computer.

Is finally happening; I am experiencing lag on games (age of empires 3) due to the 8500GT overheating, the GPU reached 87°C! and the game lagged badly.
I switched the power plan to balanced in hope that the graphics card will overheat less. The only PSUs that are available in my city, are crappy generic and cheap units. And those that you recommend exceed $100, because I live in a third world country, computer accesories and parts cots double than the united states; however I will try to purchase that corsair VX550 that you suggested, furthermore, if overheating problems continue, I will have to switch to the onboard grpahics wich is an integrated Nvidia 6150SE that sucks but is better than a burned computer

Of course that I have ebay and amazon service, the problem is that they do not ship some products such as PSUs to México due to warranty policies. I found that corsair vx550W for $112 but it was sold out.

I will keep searching for that PSU (or something similar). I will stick with the onboard videocard to prevent damage to my graphics card and computer.

I know you said that cheap PSU are crap, but I cannot find any of the PSUs that you suggested in my country at a decent price.

That pixxo PSU seems to have all the requirements that you said in a good PSU.
It even has the 6 pin PCI-E connector, one 12V line and two SATA lines, which are the only connectors that I use, (and the 24 pin connector of course) it also has two 4 pin molex connectors and a floppy connector
what do you think?